ABSTRACT
The study investigated Management Support Services and Teachers’ Productivity in Public Secondary Schools in South-East, Nigeria. Eight research questions were asked and answered and eight hypotheses postulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design of the study was a correlational research design because it sought to establish the strength of relationship that exists between Management Support Services and Teachers’ Productivity. The population of the study was 28,682 which comprised of 27,431 teachers and 1,251 principals. A sample size of 679 respondents consisting 379 teachers and 300 principals from the three selected states of the South East. The multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. The instruments used for data collection was two structured questionnaires titled: Management Support Services Questionnaire (MSSQ) and Teachers Productivity Questionnaire (TPQ). The instrument was validated by three experts, two from Educational Management and one from Measurement and Evaluation in College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The reliability of the instruments MSSQ and TPQ was established through a trial testing for internal consistency and stability of the instrument. Cronbach Alpha Statistic was used to measure the internal consistency of the items. Reliability indices of 0.82 and 0.85 were obtained. The data collected through the administration of the instruments were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to answer research questions and Linear Regression to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that the provision of adequate physical facilities to a high extent determine productivity of teachers and that there was a significant relationship between adequate physical facilities and teachers productivity. A significant relationship existed between the provision of regular staff development and teachers’ productivity which showed regular staff development to a high extent determine teachers productivity in secondary schools. provision of information communication technology to a high extent determine teachers productivity and that there is significant relationship between provision of information communication technology and teachers productivity. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government, managers of education, Teachers and Students should ensure, provision of physical facilities, staff development, quality conditions of service, provision of information and communication technology, school health services and adequate funding in secondary schools as it positively determined teachers’ productivity.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Cover Page Page
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
Abstract x
CHAPTER
1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background
to the Study 15
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 16
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 16
1.4 Research
Questions 17
1.5 Hypotheses 17
1.6 Significance
of the Study 18
1.7 Scope
of the Study 21
CHAPTER
2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 22
2.1 Conceptual
Frame Work 22
2.1.1
Concepts of education 22
2.1.2
Concepts of teachers 25
2.1.3
Teachers' productivity 32
2.1.4
Concept of management 35
2.1.5 Management
support services 37
2.1.6 Physical facilities and teachers’
productivity 45
2.1.7 Staff development and teachers’ productivity 57
2.1.8 Conditions of service and teachers’
productivity 66
2.1.9 Information and communication technology
and teachers’ productivity 70
2.1.10 School health service and teachers’ productivity 81
2.1.11 Manageable workload and teachers’ productivity 90
2.1.12 Adequate
funding and teacher productivity 98
2.1.13 Parent teachers association and teachers’
productivity 101
2.2 Theoretical Framework 105
2.2.1 Jacob
Mincer’s Theory of Human Capital Development (1958) 105
2.2.2 General Systems
Theory of Management by Ludwig von
Bertallanffy (1928) 106
2.2.3 Hierarchy of Needs Theory by Maslow (1943) 110
2.3 Empirical Studies 111
2. 4 Summary
of Literature Review 122
CHAPTER
3: METHODOLOGY 124
3.1 Design of the Study 124
3.2 Area of the Study 125
3.3 Population of the
Study 128
3.4 Sample and Sampling
Techniques 128
3.5 Instrument for Data
Collection 129
3.6 Validation of the
Instrument 130
3.7 Reliability of the
Instrument 130
3.8 Method of Data
Collection 131
3.9 Method of Data
Analysis 131
CHAPTER
4: DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSION 133
4.1 Research Questions 133
4.1.1 Research question
one 133
4.1.2
Research question two 134
4.1.3
Research question three 135
4.1.4
Research question four 136
4.1.5
Research question five 137
4.1.6 Research question six 138
4.1.7 Research question seven 139
4.1.8 Research question eight 140
4.2 Hypotheses 141
4.2.1
Hypotheses one 141
4.2.2
Hypotheses two 142
4.2.3
Hypotheses three 143
4.2.4 Hypotheses
four 144
4.2.5 Hypotheses
five 145
4.2.6 Hypotheses
six 146
4.2.7 Hypotheses
seven 147
4.2.8 Hypotheses
eight 148
4.3 Findings of the Study 149
4.4 Discussion of Findings 150
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 158
5.1 Summary
of the Study 158
5.2
Conclusion 161
5.3 Recommendations 162
5.4 Educational
Implication of the Study 163
5.5 Limitations of the Study 165
5.6 Suggestions for Further Studies 165
REFERENCES 167
APPENDICES 186
LIST
OF TABLES
4.1 Pearson product moment correlation of
provision of adequate
physical
facilities and teachers’ productivity 133
4.2 Pearson product moment correlation
regular staff development and
teacher’s
productivity 134
4.3 Pearson product moment correlation for
robust conditions of service and
teachers’
productivity 135
4.4 Pearson
product moment correlation for the provision of Information and
Communication
Technology (ICT) and teachers’ productivity 136
4.5 Pearson product moment correlation for
the provision of school health
services and teachers’ productivity 137
4.6 Pearson product moment correlation of
teacher workload and teachers’
productivity 138
4.7 Pearson product moment correlation on
extent adequate funding determine
teachers’
productivity 139
4.8 Pearson
product moment correlation on extent parent teachers’ association
determine teachers
productivity in secondary schools 140
4.9 Simple linear regression analysis for the
provision of adequate physical
facilities and teachers’ productivity 141
4.10 Simple linear regression analysis for
regular staff development and teachers’
productivity
142
4.11 Simple linear regression analysis for the
Robust Conditions of Service
And Teachers’
Productivity 143
4.12 Simple linear regression analysis for the
provision of ICT and teachers’
productivity 144
4.13 Simple linear regression analysis for the
provision of school health
services
and teachers’ productivity 145
4.14 Simple
linear regression analysis of sizeable workload for teachers and
teachers’
productivity 146
4.15 Simple linear regression analysis for the relationship
between adequate
funding
and teachers’ productivity 147
4.16 Simple linear regression analysis for the
extent of relationship between
parent
teachers’ association and teachers productivity. 148
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendices Page
I Management Support Services
Questionnaire (MSSQ) 184
II Teachers’
Productivity Questionnaire (TPQ) 187
III Population of Teachers and Principals in South East
zone 188
IV Reliability of Instrument Analysis
(MSSQ) 189
V Reliability of Instrument Analysis
(TPQ) 190
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Education refers to the
process which takes place at learning centers where one gives information
(knowledge) and the other receives it. Education is the process of teaching or
training and learning in a school or college to improve knowledge and develop
skills. What teachers know and do has the most important influence on what
students’ learn. Modebelu (2012) in her
attempt to explain and define education mentioned the necessary aspects
involved for education to exist as a form of learning in which the knowledge,
skills, values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred from
one generation to the next through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training
and/or research. According to Obunadike (2008) education, involves the actions
and processes of teaching someone, especially in a school, college or
university, where the skills and knowledge that you get from attending a school
deals with the methods and problems of the moment. It is also an enlightening
experience as divulged by Ibe (2016) as the act or process of impacting or
acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment.
Generally, education in Nigeria has been perceived as
an instrument "per excellence" for effecting national development (National
Policy on Education, 2013). Government has stated that for the benefit of
all citizens, the country's educational goals shall be
clearly stated in terms of their relevance to
the needs of the individual and those of the society, in consonance with the
realities of our environment and the modern
world. If our education is to achieve the national goals, then, well trained,
well-qualified and efficient educators are absolutely essential. The fact that no education system
will rise above the quality of its teachers, is an old aphorism. Therefore,
acquiring teacher's services, developing their
skills, motivating them to high levels of productivity and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to
the organization are essential to achieving
school organizational goals.
Government has also continuously encouraged
secondary education by adopting the social demand approach in planning the
sector, and subsidizing the Senior Certificate Examinations (SSCE) fees over a
long period of time. An indication of government’s immense interest in the
general education in the South East, Nigeria could be traced back to 2010-2014
budgetary estimates and allocation to education in the country. Equally, the
Government of all the states in the South East are mindful of achieving
inclusive and equitable quality education for human capital development as a
critical issue in national development, this account for why education is one
of the five pillars and has a budgetary allocation of 37.4% of the capital
allocation, average of 7.48% in each state of the South East (Nigeria Multi-year
Budget, 2018-2019).
In Nigeria as
in several countries of the world therefore, there is increased attention on
improving the quality of education in secondary schools. The global monitoring
report team of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO, 2014) heightened this when it reported that many countries are far
from achieving quality education because, one third of the world’s primary
school age children are not learning the basics, let alone further skills they need,
to get decent work and live fulfilling lives (UNESCO, 2014). Another report by
The Global Partnership for Quality Education (2014) indicates that the quality
of learning among children in sub-Saharan Africa is quite low, so there is need
to provide quality teaching and learning to make citizens of the nation compete
favourably with their counterparts from other nations in the 21st
century. Nigeria precisely needs functional and quality education that can
engineer its citizens towards achieving complex skill for further schooling,
responsible citizenship, international competitiveness and lifelong learning
(World Bank, 2013). This can only be achieved through the teacher. Ochai (2012)
opined that the place of the teacher in any educational system cannot be over
emphasized. The
teacher is the human resource required for effective implementation of any
educational system necessary to promote national development. The teacher makes
it possible for teaching and learning to occur through manipulation of learning
environment (Obunadike & Uzoechina, 2015; Obunadike, 2016).
The teacher
is the pivot on which the educational process rests. Supporting the assertion, Achinugu (2008)
posits that the role of the teacher in National development and educational
system is very strategic and crucial because one cannot talk about the National
development without giving attention to the central role of teachers as real
agents of development. The teacher is the factor required for effective
implementation of any educational system. The teacher makes it possible for
teaching and learning to occur in any given environment. In support of the
above, Okeke (2004) stated that no education system can rise above the quality
of its teachers hence the need for teacher education. Teachers
at all levels of education are the foundation and bedrock of quality education
in the society (Clark, 2006). In line with the above view, teachers especially
secondary school teachers need to manage both students and knowledge, monitor
students' progress and provide guidance services under the guidance and
supervisory role of the principal. To guard the above position, teachers engage
in research activities to adequately equip themselves for effective lesson
delivery.
Therefore, teachers' role and tasks is
dependent on the kind of support given to them by the management. Managing teachers is that part of school management function
which is concerned with teachers at work and their relationship within the
educational enterprise. It seeks to bring together
and develop into an effective educational organization, men and women who make
up the teaching workforce, enabling each to make
his/her own best contribution to its success.
Management is a comparatively new concept
and is used interchangeably with administration. It is a social process which
is designed to ensure the cooperation, participation, intervention and
involvement of others in the effective achievement of a given or predetermined
goals or objectives (Modebelu, 2016). Again, Eya
(2014) mentioned that management is the process of taking decision (through
forecasting, planning as well as organizing) and implementing the decisions
taken (through commanding, co-coordinating and controlling) to realize the
objectives of an organization. Therefore, management entails the process by
which all material resources are put to use so as to achieve organizational
goals, with deliberate efforts by humans who plan, control, organize, lead,
coordinate and direct these processes. Management of education is
concerned with the totality of coordinating materials and human resources
towards the attainment of desirable educational objectives (Ibiam, 2015; Chukwu
& Obunadike, 2018). Therefore, managers of education include but not
restricted to the following; government as policy makers, ministries of
education as implementation of the policy, schools heads (principals),
community leaders, philanthropist and other departmental and unit heads of the
schools. All these people could as well be termed as stake-holders of education
in the immediate environment. Within the processes in administration of
education and learning, the teacher becomes the player at the centre stage
hence he is assumed to be the initiator, the facilitator, the implementer and
the evaluator gained in the process of education. Management
of teaching workforce involves a number of strategies that begins and maintains activities toward the achievement
of personal and organizational goals. Omebe (2001) is of the view that well managed teachers will always look for better
ways to do their teaching job. They therefore become more quality oriented and
more productive.
Management by virtue of its position are
the managers and the quality of managerial functions determine to a large
extent their success or failure (Odumodu, 2011). Management should provide
teachers with needed supports services to effectively function in this regard.
Management should as well provide teachers with needed supports services to
effectively function in their schools (Obunadike, 2010; Castller, 2010). That
is to say, Management should provide supportive services for teachers' work
load and the utilization of available professional and material resources.
Management culture in
workplace environment is the key towards progression and
productivity of a nation. This is to say that management of people at workplace
for optimum productivity has been of great importance in today’s developed
organization i.e., school management system (Modebelu,
Eya & Obunadike, 2016). Staff management
according to Okorie (2000) depends on all enterprises that provides for
effective utilization of human resources to attain both the objectives of the
enterprise, satisfaction and development of the employee. It encompasses the
totality of the teacher’s skills, energies, talents, social, cultural values
(norms and belief), and latent abilities towards attaining educational goals
and objectives. It makes people integral part of the school system towards
actualizing the goals of the organization through management support services.
Support services include those services
provided by both professionals and the para-professionals to schools to address
diverse learning skills and problems of the students. These services when
managed well support the teaching and learning process by addressing the
underlying issues such as academic behavioral lapses and mental health problems
that challenge and bar effective teaching and learning. These services can
provide screening for behavioural health issues, identifying risk factors for
young students and providing early intervention services before students start
encountering problems. Researchers and stakeholders of education have within
the past five years identified several factors as the causes of poor academic
performance of students in public examinations. Among the factors identified
are teachers productivity factors like poor assessment of students’ academic
performance, poor maintenance of school discipline and poor lesson delivery
incessant changes in government policies, closure of schools which is
contingent upon teachers’ strike action, high student-teacher ratio and lack of
proper supervision, monitoring and evaluation environment among others which
are needed for effective management (Adepoju, 2012).
Management support services in this
context, implies provisions of enabling work environment for teachers to render
the needed services effectively in the school system. For Campbell (2007),
management support services in public secondary schools revolve around putting
in place all enabling environment by the management to foster teachers' morale
and commitment and professional development. Along the same line, Jefferson
(2014) affirms that provision of management support services to teachers
involve giving supportive instructional supervision, adequate welfare, rewards,
in-service education programme as and when due. In addition, Akubue (2012) also
affirms that management support services has to do with providing, for
teachers' welfare, professional growth, supportive supervision, giving rewards,
counseling employees and organizational career planning. Management support services
are those contractual services that provide assistance, training for the
efficient and effective management operation of school activities and technical
support for conference.
Provision of management support services
by school management are essential for teachers' performance in building sufficiently
motivated and effective teachers. Put differently, it is the act of giving
assistance, encouragement and stimulation to teachers by management to enhance
their performance towards the achievement of the objectives of the school
system. Imperatively, teachers need supportive services from their management
to be able to perform maximally. To this end what teachers teach their students
is judged by them (teachers) to be worthwhile. To perform maximally, teachers
should take special joy in winning and should not need gratification in order
to perform. Teachers' productivity can be taken to be synonymous with teacher
commitment and is a valid construct in school growth (Drayer, 2012). This study
therefore, focused attention on the following management support services that
can enhance teacher’s productivity when used. These include adequate
maintenance of physical facilities, regular staff development training, robust
conditions of services, provision of information and communication technology
(ICT), teacher workload, adequate funding and effective Parents’ Teachers
Association (PTA).
The physical
facilities are the environment, equipment and buildings which are useful for
teaching and learning to take place. Managing this physical facility is vital
for the teacher productivity. Staff development programme is a process designed to improve
job understanding, promote more effective job performance, and establish future
goals for career growth. Staff development programmes can also be referred to
as the processes, and activities through which every organization develops,
enhances and improves the skills, competencies and overall performance of its
employees and workers. The influence of staff development on students is
accomplished principally through its direct effect on teachers’ and
administrators’ knowledge and practices. Improved knowledge and practices, as
the most significant outcomes of staff development effort would lead to better
job performance. Education spending has been a hot
topic of debate for many years. Tax payers often believe that schools receive
too much funding and therefore, do not want more of their tax money going
towards education spending. Teachers and schools, on the other hand, often
claim that current funds are insufficient to finance necessary school
programmes.
The term “conditions of
service” refer to the situation or the environment that provides for teachers
to render their services effectively. It can also be referred to as the school
working environment and atmosphere that facilitates or hinders teaching and
learning. Conditions of service therefore are the terms of contract between the
government and the teachers. Conditions of service according to Dorotola (2010)
are all the motivational factors that are put in place for an employee
(teacher) to work effectively. A condition of service is a relatively enduring
quality of the school environment that is experienced by participants, affects
their behaviors and is based on their collective perceptions of behavior in
schools.
Information and
communications technology (ICT) is an umbrella term that includes any
communication device or application encompassing radio, television, cellular
phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so
on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such
as video conferencing and distance learning.
School health services
refer to the health care delivery system that is operational within a school or
college. These services aim at promoting and maintaining the health of school
children so as to give them a good start in life. In addition, these services
seek to enable children benefit optimally from their school learning experience
(Okafor, 2011).
The workloads assigned to
teachers have significant consequences not only on the students and the entire
education system, but also on the overall effectiveness and productivity of the
teachers themselves. Thus the overall attainment of the education goals is
contingent on how reasonable the workloads assigned to teachers in the system.
Teachers’ workload is directly measured by the overall number of teachers
available in the system against the number of students taught the volume of
non-teaching assignment, the number of scripts to mark and record, and other
responsibilities considered worthwhile by the school administrator that is
regularly or occasionally assigned to the teacher (Enahwo, 2010).
School funding has been cut
across the board. This decrease in funding has upset school districts and
teachers as they constantly fight to receive more money Public education is a
public good financed primarily by state and local governments. Economic theory
views education as an important input to the production function. In fact, many
empirical studies have shown that education provides positive returns to
society as more education leads to higher productivity and wages (Angrist &
Krueger, 2001; Ashenfelter & Krueger, 2004; Card, 2005). Thus, because of
these gains, the government invests billions of dollars each year in education.
Through the years, it has become a common belief that increasing school funding
will lead to increased student academic achievement. However, not all funding
sources yield the same result. Money earmarked, or restricted, by the federal
government for categorical aid is the most effective in increasing student
academic achievement.
Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) is a
voluntary and welfare organization that brings together the major stakeholders
in education, which are the parents, guardians and teachers of pupils in a
particular school. They help in fund-raising, maintenance of discipline, seeing
to the welfare of the school, and creating a bound between the school, the
home, and the community, between the parents and the teachers and building
parent involvement at school and other activities relating to the welfare of
the school, rather than the progress of individual pupils. Eze (2008) defined
PTA as “a membership organization for parents of students/pupils and teachers
of schools. The associations are groups made up of parents, teachers and
sometimes others within the school community.
They provide a range of opportunities for
parents or care givers to be actively involved in supporting schools, for the
overall benefits of their children. Parents and even teachers, administrators
in education and the students therefore have resorted to educational support services.
Teachers’ productivity is a measure of the
progressive contribution, value added process made by the employee to the
school where he/she works. Teacher productivity is the outcome of the
employee’s training, development, and diverse knowledge gathered via attending:
seminars, conferences, workshops and symposium and so on. Therefore,
productivity refers to the output gained through the inputs of the employee
aimed towards attaining the overall objective both to the school management and
the employee. Enhancing the academic productivity requires concerted effort of
all major stakeholders that are involved in the administration of the
organization. This development as regards teacher productivity does not only
involve the inputs of the teacher, but also the instructional aid provided by
the management of the school and more especially the workplace environment.
The importance of PTA cannot be over emphasized, especially now that it is
clear that government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of providing
qualitative education for every citizen as well as teachers productivity.
Teachers can be managed through the adoption of these strategies:
supervision, in-service training and compensation among others. Hence, any teacher that enjoys the influence of
the above named strategies is bound to give all
his best in discharging his or her duty because he would derive the satisfaction
of being a teacher, which in-tum will boost his/her
productivity.
Productivity is viewed from different perspectives.
(Nwachukwu, 2006) views it as the relationship between output of goods and
services and resource inputs (human and material) which are utilized in the
production of goods and services. Productivity is a measure of how efficient a
given set of resources is utilized to achieve given set objectives. Thus,
educational productivity is the ratio between the contributions made by education
to general development and the cost of education. Productivity in education is
intangible and invisible and can only be deduced from turnover, and the rate at
which educational objectives are achieved. It is a continuous process, taking
into consideration, the input, process and output phases of education. Teacher
input refers to the teacher's performance determined by his/her abilities and
motivations and technology and technical factors such as quality and quantity
of instructional material. Teachers’ Productivity is
defined as the actual level of input per unit of output within a time frame
using new methods, equipment and techniques (Nakpodia, 2010). Teachers’ productivity
in the context of this study is measured in terms of students’ academic performance,
maintenance of school discipline and efficient lesson delivery.
The teachers’ productivity or job
performance is the key to achieving the educational goals of any nation, which
indicates that great care and concern should be given to teachers in order to
bring out the maximum output from them. The quality and result therefore made
by any teacher is determined by how productive that teacher is, and the
teachers’ productivity is based on the outcome of the result of progress and
response made by the learners (students). The teacher is the connecting rod in
the process of quality and equality of education (Okendu, 2012). Teachers’
influence except a major control on the intellectual and professional
development of the citizens of any country educationally. But in recent times,
it has been generally observed that teachers, instead of being given the
necessary motivations they need for maximum outputs, have been treated with
disdain and contempt to the extent that no average Nigerian student wishes to
be a teacher. Educational researchers and professional analysts have tried
severally to find out the problem for the poor treatment given to teachers and
possible ways of finding solutions to their plight, all these have failed as
there continues to exist the relegation and decay in education.
Generally, teachers’
productivity of any school is the true reflection of the zeal and effectiveness
of the school administration and management system, via the implementation of
an effective school policy, syllabus and curriculum structure. Studies
conducted by Iheonunekwu (2003), show that the various elements involving input
process of the college should target the required standard towards attaining
high teachers’ productivity. The measure of teachers’ productivity in an
organization is concerned with the appraisal of both the employees’ qualitative
and quantitative work. To do so, in educational system, the administrator could
measure teachers’ productivity through the following: measuring timeliness of
the teachers’, measuring the academic qualification of the teachers’, ensuring
teachers’ have a sense of belonging at their work place.
The problem caused by teachers’ low
productivity is alarming and indescribable despite the governments’ huge
investments in the education sector. Teachers inability to evaluate the course
content, coupled with inappropriate assessments of students in three domains
(cognitive, affective and psycho-motor), gross neglect in disciplinary
responsibilities and teachers’ abysmal lesson delivery, on one hand have caused
some problems, giving rise to students inability to improve in the academic
pursuit leading to high school drop-outs, high sundry crime rate like
kidnapping, prostitution, proliferation of social miscreants in the streets,
financial wastage on the part of parents and the government among others. As a
result of these decadent conditions found in the school system, the researcher
was poised to find out how effective management support services as an
innovative practice would determine teacher’s productivity in the public
secondary schools in the South East, Nigeria.
Some empirical studies have been conducted
to show the relationship between some of the variables and teachers
productivity. There are factors that have to do with teachers’ output
(productivity) such as enhanced qualification. Qualification is another factor
worth considering in discussing teachers’ productivity. There is a strong
believe that in-service training is a strategy used by managers of education to
ensure high productivity. Zepeda (2012) carried out a comparative study of
teachers’ with in-service training and normal regular qualification in North
Carolina and came out with the findings that although good qualification is
imperative, in-service training is more systematically related to teachers’
productivity which is evidence to students’ achievement. Therefore this study
wants’ to find out the extent in-service training as a management
strategy/staff development correlates to their productivity.
Also in a related research conducted by
students’ of federal university Lafia, Nigeria in the department of computer
sciences 2004. The work reported an investigation into role of communication
technology in promoting efficient teaching and learning using federal university
Lafia as a case study. The result from the sample survey of 50 lecturers showed
that ICT plays a vital role in enhancing productivity in the teaching process.
Therefore this study sought to find out the extent to which ICT as a management
support service relate to teachers’ productivity in secondary school in South
East.
School health services refer to the health
care delivery system that is operational within a school or college. These
services aim at promoting and maintaining the health of management, teachers
and students. School health services deals with appraisals, control of
communicable diseases and record keeping. It affords the school management the
opportunity to dictate signs of emotional disturbances that could impede
learning outcomes. The study used a comparative cross sectional survey of private
and public schools in Ogun State using a multistage sampling technique. Data
was collected using questionnaires and check list. The study concluded that
school health services were poor in public secondary schools than in private
schools. This suggests that more health services needed to be provided to
carter for the health needs of both teachers and students in public secondary
schools in Nigeria to bring about maximum productivity.
These studies looked at these support
services as single variables. Therefore this research wants to find out the
extent management support services correlates with teachers’ productivity.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
Academic attainment is an important
parameter in measuring success for both students and teachers. Observations and
reports have shown that success or high academic achievement has become a
herculean task to accomplish by students in recent times and poor academic
performance records both at the secondary and tertiary levels of education in
Nigeria has attracted much criticisms from all and sundry. Management support
services such as physical facilities, staff development and conditions of
service, ICT, school health services and others are meant to be provided for
the teachers’ effective job productivity.
The researcher in line with many other
persons have observed with dismay the decline in the academic performance of
students from primary schools to higher institutions which in most cases are
traceable to teacher’s poor evaluation of students’ learning outcome,
disproportional maintenance of school discipline among teachers and effective
teaching delivery practice. It is sad to observe that despite all measures
mounted in schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning procedures
(teachers teaching ability & the learning academic performance by students)
and productivity is still very poor.
School administrators are under pressure and are
expected to provide enabling work environment for teachers' high productivity through
support services. There is growing fears in the
minds of stakeholders in the Nigeria secondary education system with regard to
the negative signals coming from the system over
poor performance of teachers on instructional delivery.
The poor performance seemed to mean that school management is not working up to
expectations. It appears school management does not
effectively and efficiently provide support services to teachers in areas of adequate
physical facilities, regular staff development, robust conditions of services,
information and communication technology (ICT), school health services,
manageable workload, adequate funding, school based management committee for maximum productivity. As a result of the above
decadent conditions found in the school system, the researcher suspects that
low teacher productivity as observed in schools maybe due to inadequate
provision of management support services hence the need for this study
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The study investigated the extent to which
Management Support Services and teachers’ productivity in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study sought to find out
the extent to which:
1.
provision of adequate
physical facilities determines teachers’ productivity.
2.
regular staff development
determine teachers’ productivity.
3.
robust conditions of
service determine teachers’ productivity.
4.
provision of information
and communication technology (ICT) determines teachers’ productivity.
5.
provision of school health
services determines teachers’ productivity.
6.
teacher workload determine
their productivity.
7.
adequate funding determine
teachers’ productivity.
8.
parent teachers’
association (PTA) input determines the productivity of teachers.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guided
the study
1.
to what extent does
provision of adequate physical facilities determine teachers’ productivity?
2.
to what extent does
regular staff development determine teachers’ productivity?
3.
to what extent do robust
conditions of service determine teachers’ productivity?
4.
to what extent does
provision of information and communication technology (ICT) determine teachers’
productivity?
5.
to what extent does the
provision of school health services determine teachers’ productivity?
6.
to what extent dose the
teachers’ workload determine their productivity?
7.
to what extent does
adequate funding determine teachers’ productivity?
8.
to what extent does
parent teachers’ association (PTA) determine the productivity of teachers?
1.5
HYPOTHESES
The following null hypotheses, tested at
0.05 level of significance were posed for the study.
H01. There is no significant
relationship between provision of adequate physical facilities and teachers’
productivity.
H02. There is no significant relationship
between regular staff development and teachers’ productivity.
H03. There is no significant relationship
between robust conditions of service and teachers’ productivity.
H04. There is no significant relationship
between provision of ICT and teachers’ productivity.
H05. There is no significant relationship
between provision of school health Services and teachers’ productivity.
H06. There is no significant relationship
between sizeable workload for teachers and their productivity.
H07. There is no significant relationship
between adequate funding and teachers’ productivity.
H08. There is no significant relationship
between the inputs of parent teachers’ association and teachers’ productivity
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
The findings of this study
would be useful to the government, educational administrators, Secondary
Education Management Board (SEMB), teachers, students and future researchers.
The findings of this research could guide
government to see the need to increase the running cost given to school
administrators for the day to day running of the school and include same in
their budgets. The federal government may find an education system with
efficient and productive teachers’ capable of implementing the provisions of
national policy on education with a view of realizing the national
objectives. The findings would reveal
some of the managerial deficiencies, when solution are proffered and applied,
teachers’ productivity would be ensured, and therefore management support
services would help the government in achieving the goals of education in the
country. For this reasons the study is
significant and worthwhile. Also the findings of this study would provide yet
the missing link of trying out a model managerial approach as a base for
introducing an alternative and a more viable approach acceptable to teachers’
where the traditional model fails to meet the educational needs of the society.
When these support services are provided, the result would be more productivity,
absence of fear and general positive attitude to work.
Managers of education, like the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB)
would benefit from the findings of the research by arranging a sort of
checklist for interviewing the school administrators to hear their opinion on
possible challenges that come up in providing Support Services in order to
increase teachers productivity. The study may also reveal the correct
principles for the proper implementation of Management Support Services in
boosting the productivity of teachers.
Teachers’ feel better about themselves and
their jobs when they are allowed to control and improve their professional
growth thus staff development programs such as in-service training may improve
the teachers’ in modern methods and practice and thereby raised the tone of the
school. When the managers sees this needs and provide workshop, conferences and
seminars as a means of improving and supporting their teachers, there will be a
positive increase in human relationship and teachers’ will look inwards in
their task in teaching and learning, such benefits will motivate them to
increased efficiency hence become more productive.
The information gathered in this study could
help teachers see the need to upgrade themselves by being computer literate, so
as to encourage the use of ICT in teaching and learning, thus increase their productivity. For the
students, the information gathered in this study would help the students to see
the need to be computer literate or ICT compliant so as to encourage the use of
ICT in their studies since ICT has become a global process.
The findings of the study could serve as a
springboard to future researchers who may wish to research on same variables or
others related to it. The information gathered would immensely add knowledge to
the existing literature on management support services and teachers’
productivity in public secondary schools, which may serve as a reference point
to other researchers. Moreover, the study could be of immense benefit to future
researchers as they may find the study interesting and would like to carry out
more research on management support services and teachers’ productivity on
other levels of education as to produce more researchable and readable
materials that would help both managers of education and teachers perform
maximally with the sole objectives of becoming more productive which will be
evidenced in the students’ learning outcomes, for these reasons this study is
significant and worthwhile.
The findings of the study were anchored on
Jacob Mincer’s Theory of Human Capital Development, General
systems, Attribution theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. The information gathered would immensely add
knowledge to the existing literature on management support services and
teachers’ productivity in public Secondary Schools by exposing the government
and teachers to the benefit of adequate support services.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The content scope of this
study was to find out the extent Management Support Services
and teachers’ productivity in public secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. It focused on management
support services that might
determine teacher’s productivity, such as the provision of
adequate physical facilities, adequate funding, regular staff development,
robust conditions of services, provision of information and communication technology
(ICT), provisions of school health services, manageable workload, parent
teachers’ association and teachers’ productivity.
The scope of this study was delimited to
all the public secondary schools in the three states of the South East Nigeria,
surrounded by Benue, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta States. South East, Nigeria
is an area covering about 76,358km2 east of the lower Niger and
South of Benue valley. The region is located between latitudes 4 and 7 degrees
North of the Equator and between longitudes 7 and 9 degrees east. The study is also delimited to all the teachers
and principals in public
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Thus the study was restricted to only
public secondary schools in the three South East states, Nigeria.
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